1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, aJucal the son of Shelemiah, and bPashhur the son of Malchiah cheard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,
2 “Thus says the Lord: a‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’
3 Thus says the Lord: a‘This city shall surely be bgiven into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ”
4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, alet this man be put to death, for thus he1 weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the2 welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.”
6aSo they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon therewas no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.
7aNow Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the1 eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying:
9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For thereisano more bread in the city.”
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained ain the court of the prison.
Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will aask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
JEREMIAH PREDICTS THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM, FOR WHICH HE IS CAST INTO A DUNGEON, BUT IS TRANSFERRED TO THE PRISON COURT ON THE INTERCESSION OF EBED-MELECH, AND HAS A SECRET INTERVIEW WITH ZEDEKIAH. (Jer. 38:1-28)
Pashur— (Jeremiah 21:1; compare Jeremiah 21:9 with Jeremiah 38:2). The deputation in Jeremiah 21:1, to whom Jeremiah gave this reply, if not identical with the hearers of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1), must have been sent just before the latter "heard" him speaking the same words. Zephaniah is not mentioned here as in Jeremiah 21:1, but is so in Jeremiah 37:3. Jucal is mentioned here and in the previous deputation (Jeremiah 37:3), but not in Jeremiah 21:1. Shephatiah and Gedaliah here do not occur either in Jeremiah 21:1 or Jeremiah 37:3. The identity of his words in both cases is natural, when uttered, at a very short interval, and one of the hearers (Pashur) being present on both occasions.
unto all the people—They had free access to him in the court of the prison (Jeremiah 32:12).
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Jeremiah 38:1:
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